Do we need it?

Don’t Get me wrong, I love the FA Cup and the magic it brings to football. The sense of pride when causing an upset or being able to go to the home of football to lift up the trophy.

But being a newly promoted side do we want to be distracted with the tournament? After an entertaining 2-2 draw with 11-time winners Manchester United we now have to play the replay, an extra game, at Old Trafford.

Not only could this cause fatigue to our players, if we pick a full strength side our players could pick up a few knocks and be injured for our next two games. Both London derby’s vs. QPR & Arsenal.

Winning the FA Cup is special for any player but i would hope & think that our players would prefer to stay in one of the best leagues in the world. Many teams have tried to balance both a cup run & try and stay up in the premier league and it has affected. The Birmingham team of the 2010/11 season managed to lift the Carling Cup (Now the Capital One Cup) but only 3 months later they were to be relegated alongside us. The year we reached the quarter final of the FA Cup.

For me, It just seems to much to risk, especially with the funding of new Television coverage coming in the 2013/14 season. Do we really want to be playing championship football, whilst teams we are equivalent to are getting that extra dosh? Dosh we could use to sign more world class players.

When we do play the Replay at Old Trafford, I would hope Big Sam plays a lot of players who don’t get first team football. It was good to see Alou Diarra & Danny Potts play against Manchester United, both playing a brilliant game. It would be a shame if they do not get the chance to prove themselves even more. I would also like too see a few more players come into the squad. Young versatile defender Jordan Spence could get well needed playing time and experience in a claret and blue shirt and what a feeling it would be for those players if they manage to beat Manchester United. As i said you never know what happens with the magic of the cup.